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Seconds Hand Setting

This improvement in watches is very useful, as it prevents a number of accidents or errors in the regulation. The attempts to open the glass-bezel of the watch to turn the second hand with a pocket knife or other instrument to the right position, to make it correspond with the minute hand, should be avoided, as the second hand may be shifted or loosened on the pivot, or the ends of the hand may be sent so as to catch the other hands, which causes frequently the stopping of the watch; or instead of the front, the back of the watch is opened and with a penknife or pin, the balance is stopped, and it or hairspring may be easily bent, or even a pivot, jewel or end stone broken. It is at any rate not good to touch a fine balance with any instrument whatever, to scratch the same, or even to stop the same, for the purpose of having the second hand in the proper position, because the most careful operator may accidently drop something into the watch, causing either stoppage or troubles of irregularities in the running or time keeping. In the corresponding figures the invention is illustrated as applied to to pendant-set watches of well known construction. The second hand is attached to a small wheel 1, placed upon a thin steel cannon, that fits firmly to the seconds-wheel pivot, as shown in Fig. 282. The stem-winding wheels are placed under the yoke, and the crown-wheel, intermediate winding-wheel, and the setting-wheel, and the setting-wheel, as usual. The wheels 6, 5, 4 and 3 are flat, pivoted to the watch-plate, and are used to connect the small wheel 2 with the said stem-winding wheels. This wheel 2 is applied to a rocking-lever and held out of gear with the seconds-set wheel 1, by the short arm of the lever resting against the circular edge of the yoke. The said lever is pivoted upon wheel 5, to the watch-plate, and has a weighted arm W, which forms a weight to the lever, so that the same can change its position, by gravity, when the watch is held with its stem downward. This is done when the seconds are required to be set. The weighted part then holds the rocking-lever against the edge of the yoke, which is provided with a notch or stop s. In the downward position, the stem is pulled outwardly, and the yoke is moved by the usual spring and mechanism, to the position shown in Fig. 283, to an intermediate position between the setting and winding positions, or plainly said, the winding-wheel I just passes freely the barrel-arbor wheel B and the setting-wheel is not yet engaged to the dial-wheel D. The movement of the yoke being stopped by its notch or stop's coming in contact with the rocking-lever, which, by the gravity of its weighted part bearing against the edge of the yoke, drops into its notch s, thereby stopping the yoke on its way toward the setting position. When the lever is caught by the notch s the same is turned on its pivot, so that its wheel 2 is brought in gear with the seconds setting wheel 1, and by turning the stem now, the second hand can be turned forward or backward to any second of the dial. By doing this the watch can be held in any desired position, either horizontal or with its stem up, as it must be understood, that the lever is now held firmly into the notch of the yoke by the pressure or the yoke spring, which the weight of the lever cannot overcome, and therefore a sure connection is established between the second setting-wheel and the stem-arbor of the watch. When the seconds hand has been adjusted, an immediate disconnection of the wheel 2 from the seconds wheel 1 is established by pressing the stem arbor inwardly, whereby the yoke is shifted or swung to the winding position, and the notch s away from the rocking lever, which is turned upon the edge of the yoke to its normal position as shown in Fig. 282. If the minute hand has to be set solely, the stem is pulled outwardly as usual, whereby the watch is held in any position except that with its stem downward, (which is only done in case the seconds hand has to be set, to produce the dropping of the rocking-lever into the notch s), and stops the yoke in its motion before reaching the setting position. In holding the watch in the usual position, the weighted rocking-lever always passes over the notch and is held on the circular edge of the notch in this position, but the yoke can freely swing to its setting position, that is, its setting-wheel is brought fully in engagement with the dial-wheel for setting the minute hand. The second hand can either be operated before or after the setting of the minute hand, at will.